In the first quarter of this year, the throughput of foreign trade goods and containers of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area port group showed a positive growth trend, especially the import and export oriented to the countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road" became an important support, reflecting the economic resilience and vitality of the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, one of the most open regions in China. As an important node of the "the Belt and Road" initiative and the largest comprehensive main hub port in South China, the throughput of foreign trade goods and foreign trade containers of Guangzhou Port in the first quarter of this year increased by 16.88% and 22.48% year on year respectively. "In recent years, the transportation demand of foreign trade goods of China and the countries and regions jointly building the" the Belt and Road "has continued to increase, driving the throughput of foreign trade goods and foreign trade containers of Guangzhou Port to continue to rise." Mo Bin, Deputy Director of the Production Business Department of Guangzhou Port Group, said that Guangzhou Port has been opening new routes in the past two years. At present, 150 of the 174 international routes cover more than 100 countries and regions jointly building the "the Belt and Road". Ports are the "barometer" of foreign trade, with about 90% of China's foreign trade imports and exports completed through sea transportation. The operation of Guangzhou Port reflects the new characteristics of China's imports and exports. On April 14, the data released by the General Administration of Customs showed that in the first quarter of this year, China's import and export to countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road" amounted to 5.26 trillion yuan, an increase of 2.2% year on year, and the scale hit a record high in the same period of history again. After the proportion of China's foreign trade exceeded 50% for the first time last year, it continued to rise to 51.1% in the first quarter of this year. The Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area has a world-class port cluster, with the container throughput of Guangzhou Port, Shenzhen Port, and Hong Kong Port ranking among the top 13 in the world in 2024. Statistics show that in the first quarter of this year, the foreign trade container throughput of Shenzhen Port broke the historical record for the same period, reaching 7.88 million TEUs, a year-on-year increase of 19.6%. Hong Kong's commodity exports continued to maintain steady growth in the first two months of this year as a whole. Against the backdrop of insufficient growth momentum in the world economy and intensified trade protectionism, changes in export markets have also revealed strategies for companies to cope with trade barriers. On the streets and alleys of Africa, advertisements for TECNO mobile phones under Shenzhen Transsion Holdings Co., Ltd. can be seen everywhere. Amidst the long whistle, the China Europe freight train, loaded with household appliances, clothing, shoes, daily necessities, and other "Guangdong made" items, departed from Guangzhou, Shenzhen, and other places on a regular basis. According to the data of Guangdong Branch of the General Administration of Customs, in 2024, Guangdong's import and export to countries jointly building the "the Belt and Road" will increase by 9.4%, accounting for nearly 40% of Guangdong's total import and export value of 9.11 trillion yuan. The data also shows that in the past 10 years, the trade volume between Hong Kong and the "the Belt and Road" economies outside the mainland has increased by nearly 60%, and the trade volume with related economies accounts for 43% of Hong Kong's foreign trade volume, reflecting that the "the Belt and Road" initiative has brought more opportunities to Hong Kong and become a new driving force for Hong Kong's economic growth. In the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area, shipping and railway have built a logistics channel for Chinese enterprises to connect with countries and regions along the "the Belt and Road". The Greater Bay Area port cluster has also expanded its port service functions to China's inland and inland rivers through multimodal transport such as sea rail transport and water water transport. Shenzhen Yantian Port undertakes over one-third of Guangdong Province's foreign trade import and export volume. Here, not only are there the sirens of cargo ships, but also the roar of trains. The 23 kilometer long Pingyan Railway can directly enter the port area and is closely connected to the national railway network, connecting to the vast inland source of goods. The newly opened 'Chongqing Shenzhen Hong Kong Express' in 2024 will shorten the transportation time from Chongqing to Yantian Port Area in Shenzhen and Kwai Tsing Port Area in Hong Kong to 2 and 3 days respectively, providing a stable and efficient green and low-carbon overseas channel for inland foreign trade enterprises Pang Ning, Deputy General Manager of the Commerce Department of Yantian International Container Terminal, said that Yantian Port has opened 32 sea rail intermodal routes, serving the central and southwestern economic regions. The ocean line "holds hands" with the railway line, which means that the sea outlet has "moved" to the doorstep of inland entrepreneurs. In March of this year, the Guangzhou Port Liuzhou Inland Port was unveiled, offering sea rail intermodal trains from Liuzhou, Guangxi to Nansha Port, Guangzhou. Local export goods from Liuzhou can be transported directly to Nansha Port via railway. In Hunan, after the export goods of enterprises are packed in Zhuzhou, Yueyang, Hengyang, Huaihua and other places, they can be transported point-to-point by railway through the "Hunan Guangdong Maritime Silk Road" logistics special train to Guangzhou Port, seamlessly connecting with the sea freight route, achieving a 5-day delivery from Hunan to Haiphong, Vietnam and 7-day delivery to Southeast Asia such as Linchaban, Thailand. Fu Zhengping, president of the Comprehensive Research Institute of the Free Trade Zone of Sun Yat sen University, said that the Guangdong Hong Kong Macao Greater Bay Area has built a world leading port group, and connected to the inland hinterland through multimodal transport. The radiation and driving role of "internal connectivity and external connectivity" has been increasing, and has created new economic channels, triggered regional economic restructuring, and accelerated the economic and trade cooperation of the "the Belt and Road" countries. (New Society)